‘Let the Real World In’: A video art exhibit displaying the growth from youth to voting age
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‘Let the Real World In’: A video art exhibit displaying the growth from youth to voting age
Elise Emery, Arts and Entertainment Reporter • February 3, 2026 •
The video exhibit showcases four young adults and their views on social advocacy and the 2024 presidential election. (Photo courtesy of Kirsten Leenaars)
Portrayed through an array of video footage on various monitors as you walk into the Haggerty Museum of Art, “Let the Real World In” is an accumulation of 10 years of observing how young people in Milwaukee feel about social and political issues.
The project began with a summer camp program that artist Kirsten Leenaars held in collaboration with the Haggerty Museum from 2016-2020. Through this summer camp, middle school children at various Milwaukee schools took part in activities in which they expressed their personal experiences and beliefs while growing up alongside political unrest.
“Let the Real World In” incorporates footage from these summer camps with a recently recorded documentary-style film that follows four of the original participants, now 21 years old, as they discover the value in social advocacy and face the 2024 election. As these individuals see Donald Trump take office again in 2024, like what they experienced in 2016, while continuing to raise awareness for social causes, the parallels between this group’s childhood and adult experiences make their current political scene feel surprisingly familiar.
Lynne Shumow, Haggerty Museum of Art Curator for Academic Engagement, said that this piece correlated with some of the other exhibits in the Haggerty this semester, such as “Declaration of ___” and “Defying Empire,” as it highlights what the American Revolution represented.
“The kids in the film are asking those sort of questions, you know, ‘What is freedom? What is democracy?'” Shumow said.
Some of the political events tackled in the exhibit include the Israel and Palestine conflict, the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and the 2024 election.
While experiencing “Let the Real World In,” viewers might become overwhelmed in trying to piece together the story, as audio from various videos layer on top of one another and screens are constantly changing. However, this disruption in focus was exactly the goal.
When formatting this project, Leenaars wanted to emulate the lack of predictability that exists in our everyday world. She compared her inclusion of these disruptions to how breaking news can impede and interrupt daily activity.
“It was meant to be kind of a short burst of sound to draw your attention away in the way that, in real life, things are constantly pulling you away from the thing that you’re maybe trying to focus on,” Leenaars said.
Much like the multifaceted nature of the piece, the title is also derived from multiple different inspirations.
One of these inspirations is a mantra that Leenaars took from French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, which embodies the idea that artists should not seclude themselves from reality.
“He thought that it was really important that filmmakers let the real world into their work and responded to the moment,” Leenaars said. “He thought that it was kind of an ethical obligation of artists and filmmakers to not pretend they live outside of what’s happening in real life.”
Additionally, Leenaars’ collaboration with the four subjects of her piece, Kam Pickett, Hannah Plevin, Alanis Salgado and Iman Fatmi, taught her that this project was bigger than just her. “I think when you collaborate, I see that as a form of letting the real world in, in the sense that you’re letting other voices come in and other perspectives that might not be what you had in mind,” Leenaars said.
While a great portion of this project focuses on this group’s passion for social justice, audiences also see their everyday activities. Whether it’s balancing school and work, hanging out with friends or making dinner, these average experiences prove that it doesn’t take a special kind of person to harness progress.
Leenaars found great value in following these great friendships and their individual challenges and stories. She believes they will translate to a larger audience.
“I felt each of them had such a particular challenge that they were trying to figure out that felt also really representative of larger challenges, particularly in the United States right now,” Leenaars said.
In the project, obstacles such as transitioning genders, coming from an immigrant family and growing up mixed brought a vulnerability to each individual, reminding the audience that these students’ advocacy comes from wanting their families and struggles included in cultural conversations.
“Let the Real World In” encourages audiences to look beyond their own experiences and be open to conversation about difficult topics, which can achieve immense progress.
This exhibit will be shown at the Haggerty through May 16 with free admission to the public. More information on the exhibit can be found on the Haggerty website.
This article was written by Elise Emery. She can be reached at elise.emery@marquette.edu.